St. Mary’s Parish Council Meeting
July 5, 2017
The meeting was called to order by Vice-president Angie Box. Angie led the opening prayer.
Roll Call
Present: Father Hoffman, Angie Box, Emily Box, Roger Fullenkamp, Carol Hunold, George Kieler, Linda Peitz, Anthony Schulte, and Bruce Wellman.
Guests: Rebecca Hannum, Jill Garmoe, Maureen Kieler, Joe Loving
New Members: Angie welcomed new council members George Kieler and Emily Box.
Agenda: Angie suggested that we move election of officers to after the guests who wanted to speak about the return of the statues. Angie made a motion to approve the agenda as changed, seconded by Linda. The agenda was approved.
Approval of Minutes: Bruce made a motion to approve the minutes as amended, seconded by Carol. The minutes of the June meeting were approved.
Monthly Reports
School Board Report: Linda reported that at the June school board meeting the board approved the contracts of 2 new certified staff and 3 returning non-certified staff plus some policy updates.
Youth Ministry Report: The July youth ministry reports were emailed to parish council members and have been posted to the parish website. Linda made a motion to approve the youth ministry reports, seconded by Bruce. The motion carried.
Director of Religious Education Report: The July report from the director of religious education was emailed to parish council members and has been posted to the parish website. Linda made a motion to approve the DRE report, seconded by Bruce. The report was approved.
Financial Report: Roger and Anthony reported that the finance committee has moved investments to 60% equities and 30% fixed income to follow the investment allocation of the HTC Foundation. We need to continue to encourage parishioners to move to online giving.
Strong Catholic Families: Angie reported the group is working on plans for a summer movie night and a fall hay ride. They plan to make some changes on the food for the BBQ next year, and hope to keep increasing attendance.
What’s going on: Emily told about her experience with Catholics In Action. This group of youth, youth ministers, and other adult volunteers from throughout the diocese completed service projects in Lee and Des Moines counties. They also listened to several speakers and toured the old Iowa State Penitentiary.
Five Pillars:
Spirituality: Linda had nothing to report.
People: There were no money counters last Sunday, but this was handled by having two come in on Monday. There was some discussion of continuing to notify those scheduled to be ministers by phone calls and/or texts.
Growth and Stewardship: Angie had nothing to report.
Community: Carol had nothing to report.
Old Business
Church Maintenance: The parish council planned to tour the parish offices at the end of the meeting to assess repairs that are needed. Rebecca noted that there are still issues with the door openers for the gathering space, and she is working with Bob Schierbrock to resolve this.
New Business
Return of statues to Saint Mary’s: Maureen Kieler asked the council to have the 2 statues (Saint Anthony and Saint Theresa) that were loaned to St. Boniface returned to our parish. Joe Loving thought that these statues could be put on pedestals in the gathering space, and he showed the council some possible pedestals from a catalog. Joe offered to clean and prep the statues. Bruce expressed some safety concerns about the statues getting knocked off the pedestals, but Joe and others felt that the statues were heavy enough that this would not be a problem. Linda made a motion that we bring the statues back and have the planning committee make them part of the design of the gathering space, seconded by Carol. The motion was approved.
Nomination and election of officers: Angie was nominated for president by Linda, seconded by Carol. Bruce was nominated for vice president by Carol, seconded by Linda. Linda was nominated for secretary by Carol, seconded by Bruce. The slate of officers was approved.
Additional Parish Council Member: Jill Garmoe agreed to fill the empty seat.
Gathering space open house: Rebecca suggested 3 possible dates to hold the open house: August 15th following the Mass for the feast of the Assumption, September 1 following Mass for the first Friday in September, or September 13th following the opening Mass for Religious Education. The council decided on the September 13th date, but discussed moving the Mass time to 6:30 instead of 7:00 P.M.
Prayer Volunteer for August: Linda volunteered to lead the prayers at the August meeting. We will have a sign-up sheet for prayer leaders for the rest of the year at our next meeting.
Pastor’s Corner
Father said they are working on the holiday schedule. He expressed his thanks for the big and little things people do for our parish; all forms of stewardship are important. He thanked those who went off the parish council and school board for their service, and thanked the new members for volunteering to serve.
Adjournment: Angie led the closing prayer and the meeting was adjourned. Then the council toured the parish offices and prioritized the repairs that are needed. Rebecca will get some estimates to be considered at our next meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Linda Peitz